Miranda Lambert to blaze into town with On Fire Tour

“Revolution” spun Miranda Lambert into the superstar stratosphere. She won Album of the Year and was named Female Vocalist of the Year by the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music, and she picked up a Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for “The House That Built Me.”

How do you follow that?

Lambert packed a double-barrel blast, partnering with friends Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley for Pistol Annies’ 2011 debut, “Hell on Heels,” and fired another round with the solo album “Four the Record” in November.

“Working with Pistol Annies kept me excited about songwriting right after ‘Revolution’ was released [in 2009],” Lambert wrote in an email interview. “A lot of the time, artists will be burned out on writing once they finish an album, but I was so inspired by my friends Angaleena Presley and Ashley Monroe and our collaborations that I just couldn’t stop!

Miranda Lambert (photo by Randee St. Nicholas)

“I think their creativity and the idea to put out a trio project with ‘Hell on Heels’ definitely inspired me to write more and find great material for ‘Four the Record.’ I did feel pressure with my fourth album because everyone was wondering how it could possibly top the success of my last one.

“ ‘Revolution’ was a big milestone for my career, and I am so grateful for how the fans and my peers in the industry embraced it. So with ‘Four the Record,’ I decided that there was really only one way I could make sure I loved it as much as ‘Revolution,’ and that was by letting the music lead me.”

She co-wrote the disc’s first single, “Baggage Claim,” a brash, no-nonsense number about being tired of toting around a man’s ego: “If it ain’t obvious what has set me off today/ Behind every woman scorned is a man who made her that way.”

And there’s “Fastest Girl in Town,” a scorcher she and Presley penned with a classic line: “I’ll be wearing nothing but a tattoo and a smile.”

Lambert seems to be beaming since wedding country superstar Blake Shelton last year. “Four the Record” features “Oklahoma Sky,” a track written for the bride.

“Allison Moorer is one of those amazing songwriters who inspired me to start writing; I am a huge fan of hers,” Lambert, who grew up in Lindale, Texas, wrote. “I hoped to write with her for ‘Four the Record,’ but we didn’t get the chance due to our schedules being so busy, so she wrote this song for me about my new home in Oklahoma.”

With tours and Shelton’s gig on NBC’s “The Voice,” love is all about logistics.

“Blake and I make sure to get in real couple time at our farm in Oklahoma. Our relationship is really just about scheduling, and so far we have done a good job,” Lambert wrote. “At home, we’re just like any other normal couple; he’s out on the tractor and I’m playing with my dogs and planting flowers.”

How do the singer-songwriters spend a day off?

“We love being outside, so I like going fishing, four-wheeling, taking care of our farm animals — really anything to be out enjoying our land,” she wrote.

And everyone wants to know if a family is in their future.

“We have seven dogs, so we’re just taking care of them for now. They’re all rescues and all crazy-looking. Every animal is named after a song or an artist — Delta, Delilah, Cher, Jessi, Waylon, Virginia Bluebell and Black Betty,” Lambert wrote. “We have so much going on right now, we’re gonna wait a while. The dogs are really good birth control!”

A couple of furry friends even travel on the tour bus.

“I usually bring two of my smaller rescue dogs, Delta Dawn and Cher, out on the road with me,” she wrote. “They are great company and help me feel like I’ve got a little piece of home with me wherever I go!”

Lambert will play a 7:30 p.m. show March 22 at the Huntington Center. Only single seats ranging from $27.75 to $51.75 remain. Chris Young and Jerrod Niemann will open.

“I make music that I love, and maybe that’s not always music that speaks to everyone, but I feel blessed when my music does inspire fans. I’ve had women tell me that my songs gave them the courage to leave abusive relationships, and that is the highest compliment I can get as a songwriter,” Lambert wrote.

“Merle Haggard and Loretta Lynn are two of my favorite songwriters, and I try to follow their no-holds-barred approach to writing. Their songs have stood the test of time, and I hope mine will do the same,” she added.

“I am just trying to take my career one day at a time and really appreciate all the good things that are happening as they come my way,” she wrote. “I am so blessed to get to do what I love for a living, and I hope to continue making music I love for a long time.”

Country icon Lynn to celebrate birthday in Toledo

It’s not every day a music legend calls. But Loretta Lynn talks like she rang up a friend down the street.

“This morning I got up and [my knee] was hurtin’ so bad,” she said. “And my daughter says, ‘Momma, why’s it still hurtin’?’ And I said, ‘Well, when you’re cut on, I imagine it hurts for a little while.’ ”

Make no mistake: The first lady of country music is tough. And even though she had to cancel March concert dates to have torn cartilage repaired in her right knee, she plans to be in Toledo April 14 for a 7:30 p.m. show at Stranahan Theater.

If you want to help Lone Wolf Productions, Toledo Free Press and 107.7 The Wolf celebrate Lynn’s 76th birthday, tickets are $62.50 and $52.50. Rory + Joey is scheduled to open.

The native of Butcher Holler, Ky., is working harder than ever.

There’s a project with her sister, Crystal Gayle.

Loretta Lynn

“We’ve been trying to pick the songs and stuff for quite a bit,” Lynn said during a phone interview from her home in Hurricane Mills, Tenn. “Me and my sister, Peggy Sue, my other little sister, she’s singin’ backup for Crystal right now. So we’re going to record an album.”

And she’s revisiting some of her greatest hits.

“I’m goin’ to record all the No. 1’s and then the top fives,” she said.

That’s a lot of songs. She was the first woman in country music to have 50 top 10 hits.

Chart-toppers include “Fist City,” “Don’t Come Home A’ Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind),” “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” “One’s on the Way,” “Rated X” and “She’s Got You.” Lynn reached the top five with several songs, including “The Pill,” “You’re Lookin’ at Country,” “Happy Birthday,” “You Ain’t Woman Enough (To Take My Man),” “They Don’t Make ’em Like My Daddy” and “Your Squaw Is on the Warpath.”

“I was writin’ from a woman’s standpoint, mostly because of the way I was feelin’ you know, so I didn’t know it’d hit so many women but found out they all felt like me,” Lynn said and laughed.

Was she trying to stir up controversy?

“I didn’t know so many of us was feelin’ the same way at the time. And after I’d get ’em recorded, some people would say, ‘You’re not goin’ to release that, are you?’ Well, what’d you think I cut it for?” she said.

“I didn’t think anything about it when I was writin’ ’em. I mean, like ‘The Pill.’ Everybody was just takin’ the pill, wasn’t they? Everybody but me, and I had the kids to prove that,” she said and laughed.

“I think the big hits are real things,” Lynn continued. “I think you need to keep it kind of true to life. If you do that, you’re gonna hit most people.”

Most are familiar with the Grammy Award winner’s life story. Her 1976 best-selling book, “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” was made into a movie and released in 1980. Sissy Spacek won an Academy Award for her portrayal of the country superstar.

Lynn said her life didn’t change much after the film.

“I was really with my fans all the time; every show I did, I’d get down and talk to my fans and go places with them and do things with them. So really, I didn’t see much of a change except some of the people that would come around I’d never seen before. It was just a bigger audience.”

Her fan base continues to grow, thanks to a collaboration with Jack White on 2004’s “Van Lear Rose” and the diverse artists on “Coal Miner’s Daughter — A Tribute to Loretta Lynn,” which was released last fall and features Paramore, Carrie Underwood, Kid Rock and Reba McEntire. Lynn sings the title track on the latter with Miranda Lambert and Sheryl Crow.

“I grew up listening to Loretta and she was a great influence on me and my music,” Lambert wrote in an e-mail to Toledo Free Press. “I feel honored that she asked me to be a part of her project and love her song ‘Coal Miner’s Daughter.’ It was definitely a thrill and a career highlight.

“She told me that I was feisty!”

“She is feisty, let me tell you, that girl’s somethin’ else,” Lynn said of Lambert. “She wrote me a letter the other day and she said it’s time we start writin’. And she sent me the idea for the song, so I’m goin’ have to call her and tell her let’s get with it.”

The first woman to receive the Country Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year honor said fans can expect some new music this year.

“I’m doin’ a Christmas album, a religious album — I’ve got some of them already recorded — and another album of new stuff,” she said.

And the Country Music Hall of Famer is dabbling in art.

“Piddlin’ and paintin’ — that’s what I’m doin’ right now,” she said. “I’m tryin’ to paint some flowers, which I’ve never done before. Just playin’, you know, but I’ve got paint all over and all over me.

“I’m just startin’. I’m afraid to try to paint anything more than a flower ’cause if I make a mistake, I can just make the flower bigger,” she said and laughed.

Toledo to throw birthday party for Loretta Lynn

Toledo Free Press and 107.7 The Wolf are teaming with Lone Wolf Productions to make Loretta Lynn’s Toledo concert a special night.

“The Queen of Country Music” will appear at the Stranahan Theater at 7:30 p.m. April 14, her birthday. Two contest winners will receive front row seats, signed memorabilia and join the audience in a chorus of “Happy Birthday.”

Concert promoter Craig Wolf said he was inspired to bring Lynn to Toledo after seeing a November Toledo Free Presscover story with Lynn and Toledo fan Rick Cornett, who has seen her in concert 400 times, ran her international fan club for several years and publishes an online newsletter with 4,000 subscribers. Cornett said he has approached Mayor Mike Bell’s office about having Bell onstage to present Lynn with a key to the city.

To enter to win the grand prize package, and the second prize of two free tickets to the show, e-mail “Loretta” to news@toledofreepress.com or thewolf@toledoradiogroup.com. Contest winners will be chosen by April 11.

Loretta Lynn in Toledo April 14

Country Music legend Loretta Lynn will play The Stranahan Theater at 7:30 p.m. April 14 . Tickets go on sale this Saturday, Feb. 19 at 10 a.m. at Ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster Outlets, Ticketmaster charge by phone 1-800-745-3000, or The Stranahan Theater box office (419) 381-8851. The concert is a Lone Wolf production.

Tribute CD honoring Loretta Lynn released on Nov. 9

In honor of Loretta Lynn’s 50th anniversary as a recording artist Columbia Nashville has released a long awaited tribute CD honoring the “Queen of Country Music.” Coal Miner’s Daughter: A Tribute to Loretta Lynn offers an A-list of contemporary artists from pop,rock and country music reworking Lynn’s classic songs.

Faith Hill breaths pure magic into the ballad “Love Is The Foundation” while Gretchen Wilson delivers a spitfire vocal on “Don’t Come Home A’ Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ On Your Mind) closely mimicking Loretta’s praising. Kid Rock ‘s take on “I Know How” is totally amazing while Paramore commands “You Ain’t Woman Enough (to Take My Man) just like it was her own.

Miss Lynn herself makes an appearance with a re-worked version of her all-time biggest hit “Coal Miner’s Daughter” with the help of Cheryl Crow and Miranda Lambert. This was released to country radio and will be supported by a music video that was shot in Lynn’s Tennessee mansion.

Alan Jackson and Martina McBride turn in a strong rendition of “Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man” while Steve Earl and Allison Moore are weak on “After The Fire Is Gone.”

Country sweetheart Carrie Underwood has the standout cut with “You’re Looking at Country” along with Lynn’s first 1960 hit “I’m a Honky Tonk Girl” by Lee Ann Woman. They keep it country without any pop influenced injections.

Reba Mc Entire’s peppy version of “If You’re Not Gone to Long” will not disappoint die-hard Loretta Lynn fans while Lucinda Williams pale attempt at “Somebody Somewhere” is a let down to listeners.

Although Loretta Lynn crossed over as a mainstream artist without ever having a cross over hit her influence on generations of artists that followed is extraordinary. She was the first woman in American music history to chart over 50 top ten hits, has released over 80 studio albums, the first living entertainer to ever have a major motion picture made of their life and has been inducted into more music and songwriting halls of fame than any other female recording artist.

Local fan helps Loretta Lynn celebrate 50 years in music

Leave it to Loretta Lynn to remain low-key and humble about her 50th anniversary in show business.

The music icon’s career began in 1960. She’s looking back on a half-century spent as the undisputed queen of country music. And yet, the main emotion she conveyed in an interview with Toledo Free Press is being thrilled that people care so much.

“I really was kinda surprised when they started doing shows and doing things for me, because I really hadn’t realized it’s been that long,” she said. “But they didn’t let me forget too long. They let me know I’ve been in the business 50 years. It was nice that the people remembered and cared, you know? That’s what made it good.”

It isn’t just her legions of fans who have taken the time to honor Lynn’s monumental contributions. During the past few months, Lynn has seen numerous events hosted in commemoration of her contributions to music history — from a 50th anniversary bash at her home in Tennessee to a Grammy salute featuring Reba McEntire, Kid Rock, Gretchen Wilson, Garth Brooks and other stars.

Lynn and Cornett.

“I thought that was something,” Lynn said of her anniversary duet with Brooks. “He flies in, and him working in Vegas, to do a song with me, and flies back. You can’t buy that kind of stuff. It’s not for sale.”

‘They already know me’

Longtime fan and Toledo native Rick Cornett said one of Lynn’s defining characteristics — one which has helped endear her to generations of fans — is her extreme level of generosity to her audience.

“She’s so humble. So down-to-earth. In all the years I’ve been following her, I’ve never seen her deny a fan an autograph, a photo opportunity. Just the realness of her — there’s no phoniness about her. I get to see her with no makeup on, no hairdo, rollers in her hair. There’s not many artists who would let fans see them that way.”

For Lynn, that level of personal access comes naturally. As far as she’s concerned, her fans practically know her as well as her friends do. From the beginning, Lynn’s music dealt with

issues that were extremely personal — controversy be damned.

“I didn’t know that people were thinking so much about it, till after it was over,” Lynn said. “I was just writing about my life and the way people live and everything, and I didn’t realize you just don’t get on records and say what you think. But it was a little late for me, because I started with ‘Honky Tonk Girl’ and ‘Coal Miner’s Daughter,’ and my life was just kinda laid out.”

Lynn continued to explore hot-button issues during her career, singing frankly about subjects that had rarely been explored in country music, such as birth control, feminism and sexuality. But once more, Lynn modestly downplays her role as a trailblazer.

“People really jumped on the records — they made ’em bigger than they woulda been if they hadn’t said anything,” Lynn said. “If somebody else woulda done it, and not said anything, it wouldn’t have been half as big.”

Her straightforward attitude about life and saying what she thinks is why she feels such a connection to her crowds.

“Everybody that’s in the audience, I know who they’re coming to see. And I know who they’re coming to see because I pretty well laid my life out there. And whoever’s at the show, I feel like they already know me. So, I just do my show for them, whatever they wanna hear.”

Four decades as a fan

For Cornett, there is no price tag for how much his relationship with the music legend has meant. During the course of nearly four decades, Cornett has been one of Lynn’s most enthusiastic fans. He has seen her in concert 400 times. He ran her international fan club for several years. He publishes an online newsletter with 4,000 subscribers.

His ongoing support has led to a personal relationship with Lynn and her family. At Lynn’s 50th anniversary party, it was Cornett’s honor to present her with a special fan appreciation award.

“Her daughter Patsy called me and said there was a media presentation, and other celebrities, but they wanted something on behalf of the fans. So they asked me to do it.

“It was a thrill. It was like a career highlight of my fandom with her to be able to stand up in front of all of her family and a ton of media people and do that for her.”

The thrills were not over for Cornett — during the course of the next few weeks, he would be tapped to crown Lynn “Queen of Country Music” during an October show and was also present for the Grammy celebration in her honor.

“She never changed. She’s the same Loretta that she was in the ’60s. She’s approachable. She never got above the culture and the places and the people that made her a star.”

Lynn said the idea for the new album had been tossed around for a while, though she seemed touched by how many artists were enthusiastic about the project. “You didn’t have to go out and beg ‘em, they were ready-set-go, you know?”

Then, Nov. 10, at the Country Music Association awards, a special tribute to Lynn will take place — another chance for fans, friends, family and peers to let the Coal Miner’s Daughter know how much she has meant to them.

She has remained prolific in the studio as well. Back in 2004, Lynn wowed audiences and critics alike with the Grammy-winning “Van Lear Rose,” produced by Jack White of The White Stripes. Today, in addition to the tribute album, Lynn has been recording new songs for future projects.

“I’ve got 30-some things already in the can, and I’m going back in to record more,” she said. “I’ve been recording for the last year or so, me and Shawn Camp, he’s a writer, and we’ve been writing together.”

And Lynn’s relationship with her audience has never been stronger — especially now that she can see the effect her music has on fans of all ages.

“People that came to see me 50 years ago still come out to see me — them, their daughter and their daughter’s kids. Now it’s just tripled, you know? So, it’s just great, it’s really great, when you have three generations out there.”